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12/21 – Nurturing our Humanity with Riane Eisler
December 2019 / Fresh Perspective
Eric Reynolds
Biography and Background
Eric: Hello Riane! Thank you so much for joining me. I was wondering if we could start with you giving a brief background of how you came to being who you are, I guess, and the work that you do?
Riane: That's an interesting question, because my life has been like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle coming together. Each piece seemed disparate. You know, my having to flee as a child refugee from the Nazis, and my mother's spiritual courage in standing up to them and gaining my father's release on Crystal Night, which was miraculous, because so many people were killed that night. Yet somehow, she managed. Then growing up in the industrial slums of Havana, which was traumatic in itself, and then coming to the United States, and always being an outsider. I think that being an outsider has been very important for me because it made it possible for me to take a different look at the world we live in and at my place in it.
Regarding my professional background, my first job was at an offshoot of the Rand Corporation before anybody ever thought of systems. It was the first time I came into contact with that approach, and that was way back in the '50s.
Something else I always carry with me is going to law school and becoming an attorney. Again, we don't think of it that way, but really, you have to do systems thinking as a lawyer. You have to do pattern recognition, because people don't come to you and say, "Apply section 1222 of this or that Code to my case. You have to figure out what is the applicable law.
Then there was being a homemaker, and going a little crazy in the suburbs, and then the 1960's.
Eric: Right.
Riane: I really woke up as if from a long-drugged sleep in the '60's. The fact is that being born Jewish almost cost me my life. But I realized at that time that having been born female had also fundamentally influenced my life, my life options. And I became aware of something that was rather shocking: that in all my years of "higher education," there had been so little by, about, or for people like me: women. And that profoundly affected my research.
My research came out of my very early traumas. Out of questions like, does it really have to be this way? Does there have to be so much cruelty and violence, and insensitivity? Is it really, as we're so often told, just human nature? Whether it's original sin, or selfish genes, while they fight each other, it's the same story, isn't it?
Eric: It certainly is.
Riane: We're told we are bad. That's inherent in us, so we have to be rigidly controlled by those on top. My research's main question was, are there alternatives?" And the answer from my research was a resounding "Yes!"
Linguistic psychologists have long told us that the categories, especially social categories, provided by a culture's language channel our thinking. And our conventional social categories, they don't look at the whole picture. Given my background in systems thinking, I became aware of this. Also, when I started this research, it became quickly evident that conventional studies, which are quite aptly called the Study of Man, not only do they leave out the female half of our species, but actually the majority of humanity, because they also pay scant if any attention to children.
Eric: What struck me as I was reading your new book and the difference between reading it and when I first read Chalice and the Blade, is that there has been so much research at this point in these areas that you're talking about. As your book says, of the importance of love and child-rearing and formative experiences and environment and so on, and so the question that comes up for me is how has that progression been for you? Have you seen there being more acceptance in academia, or in society?
Riane: Well, the academy as you know is so fragmented. It is so siloed. And, as I write in Nurturing Our Humanity, out of 1,600 years of so-called modern, western science, it's only in the last 50 years that we even had women's studies, men's studies, gender studies, queer studies, and they're still completely marginalized.
As for child development, there's been an explosion of information and much of it is in Nurturing Our Humanity, from neuroscience, from studies like the ACEs studies, from data from all over the world. So we know today, as you said, that what children experience and observe, impacts nothing less than how our brains develop. I mean 85% of our brain architecture is formed in the first five years. But that information too is basically ignored or marginalized in our universities.
To simply ignore this is lunatic, but it's very understandable, since science basically ignored women and children. So child development is also still siloed. It's in a few psychology courses. It should be part of sociology, political science, economics, because it's so influences how people think, feel and act, including how they vote.
Eric: Indeed.
Riane: It is not easy to get people to get out of their comfort zones. And this is particularly true, I think, of the academy and of progressives in general, who as a rule, have gone through the academic education, many of them, and they're indoctrinated in this very siloed, fragmented thinking.
Eric: Yes.
Riane: So, people who feel it in their gut insist that we have to return to what they call the "traditional family", right? Which is code for an authoritarian, rigidly male dominated, highly punitive family as a foundation for the kind of domination system they want to impose economically, socially, religiously, etc. But for many progressives, anything to do with women, children, families, is secondary. And this is reflected in our conventional social categories, which a friend of mine calls weapons of mass distraction.
Eric: Absolutely.
Riane: These categories of right/left, religious/secular, eastern/western, northern/southern cannot guide us in a more humane and sustainable direction. Think about it, there have been horribly oppressive, repressive, violent societies in every one of these categories. And none of these categories make it possible to see the relationship between our foundational human relations, our childhood and gender relations, and politics, economics, religion, etc.
Relational Dynamics
Eric: And that's what you'd term relational dynamics?
Riane: The study of relational dynamics, as I write in Nurturing Our Humanity, is a different approach for studying human society and human evolution. For one thing, it focuses on what kinds of relations does a particular society support: top down hierarchies of domination or the more equitable hierarchies of actualization and linking. I had to coin new language, terms such as domination system and partnership system, as well as others.
I'm going to take a little sidebar here, because we often think of hierarchy as being the problem. But we all need parents and teachers and managers and leaders. So, I had to make a distinction between a hierarchy of domination, which we all are familiar with: You better obey or else, whether it's in the family, on the job, in a rigid domination regime. But there is another kind of hierarchy: a hierarchy of actualization, where, as in the title of my first book, The Chalice and the Blade, power is conceptualized not as power over, but as power to and power with, where there is accountability and respect. That we increasingly find references to this kind of power is a partnership trend.
There have in fact been many trends towards partnership over the last few centuries, but of course, there also have been terrible regressions. I was born into one and we are living through a period of regression right now, worldwide.
Riane: A regression to the domination side of the partnership/domination social scale can take many forms. It can be religious, like so-called religious fundamentalism, which is really domination fundamentalism. Religion is part of it, but that's not what it's about. Or, it can be secular, whether it's a Hitler on the right, or a Kim Jong Un on the left, or a Stalin on the left, or whether it's ISIS or the Taliban or the direction the United States has been going in the last years, this cannot be understood in terms of the old thinking. But it becomes very understandable from a perspective which is a holistic and, if you will, an integral and integrated perspective, as in Nurturing our Humanity.
The Four Cornerstones of a Partnership Future
Eric: In having this perspective of the historical rise and fall of openness to partnership ways of being, where do you see the hope? Where is the work for those of us who do see these patterns?
Riane: We write of building four cornerstones as foundational to a partnership future in in the closing chapterof Nurturing our Humanity. These cornerstones are foundations for either a domination system or a partnership system. They are Childhood, Gender, Economics, and Narratives and Language.
Childhood is the first cornerstone, for obvious reasons. Neuroscience shows what psychology has long been telling us. And you're quite right, since I wrote Chalice, in the intervening 30 years — I've been working on Nurturing Our Humanity for 10 years, by the way — there's been a lot of new information since then. Neuroscience shows the missing links, if you will, between my theories and how our brains develop, and hence behaviors and policies. I would like to see this book used in universities, in sociology, psychology, political science, economics, etc. Because what we so need… Einstein said it, you can't solve problems with the same thinking that created them.
And yet, as I said, progressives are very difficult to move forward. We are so fragmented. A lot of things are happening that are movement towards partnership, but what's lacking for us is that coherent frame. That's what this work provides.
But there is hope. First of all, of course, movement is taking place. There is change in consciousness.
About four years ago, I asked the anthropologist, Douglas P. Fry, to be my co-author in this book, and that's because he brings what I described in The Chalice and the Blade back millennia, to our foraging days — completely debunking the so-called scientific evolutionary story that we've been fed, and are still being fed, of so-called evolutionary imperatives that claim that it's too bad, but rape, war, they're just in our genes. That's the story we have been taught.
Riane: Well, it's nonsense. For millennia we now know, studying contemporary foraging societies, like Doug has, and from many, many other scholars that are cited and quoted in Nurturing Our Humanity that, in reality, that story is completely wrong. Doug calls foraging societies, which is how we lived for millennia, the original partnership societies.
I want to add that some people think partnership is just cooperation. That's absolutely not so. People cooperate all the time in domination systems. Terrorists cooperate, invading armies cooperate, cartels cooperate, criminal gangs cooperate. What partnership system means is a social configuration.
Think about it. If you don't include in a social configuration the situation of the majority of humanity, you don't see the whole social system. Because how can you connect the dots, if you leave these huge dots — childhood and gender — out?
Eric: That, as well as speaking of those foraging societies, of nature and that partnership that's so necessary of knowing your environment, knowing that forest and knowing what is safe and what is not.
Riane: That's right. It's all of one piece. I spoke at the United Nations General Assembly at a session organized by the State of Bolivia on harmony with nature, and I made the point that you can't just tack on harmony with nature to a fundamentally imbalanced system.
That is why ranking is such a top priority for people who think a domination system of authoritarian, top-down rule in both the family and the state, is right. Especially the rigid gender stereotypes, and the ranking of men over women, the male form over the female form, and then ranking anything stereotypically associated with "real masculinity" such as domination and violence, over anything stereotypically associated with the feminine, like caring, caregiving, non-violence, etc.
Why do these people always have returning to a "traditional" male dominated, punitive family as a top priority? Whether it was Hitler in Germany, Khomeini in Iran, it doesn't really matter. It's because children in these families learn two fundamental lessons: one, they learn to equate difference, beginning with the fundamental visible difference in form between male and female in our species, with either superiority or inferiority, dominating or being dominated, being served or serving. They learn this, not only before their brains are fully developed, but before their critical faculties have kicked in at all.
So they have this template for in-group versus out-group thinking, and it doesn't matter whether it's racism in the United States, or Shia versus Sunni, or Sunni versus Shia in the Middle East, it's always this in-group versus out-group thinking.
And in these families children learn another basic lesson to fit into domination systems, which is why childrearing is so punitive. They learn that it is very, very painful to not obey orders, no matter how unjust, no matter how capricious.
And they learn denial, because they're dependent on the people who take care of them and who also cause them pain. So, they deflect their rage onto an out-group that some authority figure, whether it's a Hitler, or a Trump, tells them is to blame. They have rigid thinking. Rigid sexual stereotypes, gender stereotypes.
We're finding out from neuroscience, as we report in this book, in Nurturing Our Humanity, that this actually affects our brains. The part of our brain that helps us change when reality changes is often stuck in people who come out of domination backgrounds. So, no wonder there's such tremendous susceptibility to climate change denial. When an authority that they believe tells them, this is just fake news, right?
Eric: Yes, and the weather is still working…
Riane: Yes, so they can deny the reality around them. The fields are burning, the droughts, the higher temperatures. No, it's not happening. But we need to understand this. And we also need to understand that it's wonderful that gender is becoming part of the mainstream media conversation. Like the MeToo Movement, sexual harassment, sexual assault. That's very important because what it gets to, I don't like the term toxic masculinity, because that's what men are taught, but the truth of the matter is the "traditional socialization" for men is never, never to be like a woman. In other words, the only emotions men get are contempt and anger. But to be real men, they can't have the soft emotions. You know, vulnerability and the behaviors of caring. But there are many men now who are diapering and feeding babies.
Eric: One of the things I've found interesting in the book about the research in the feedback loop between male caregivers and the reduction of testosterone.
Riane: Yes. Isn't that fascinating?
Eric: Indeed. It goes both ways.
Riane: Well, and you know something else. It's not only what you mention, but that actually men get so much pleasure from caregiving just like women and that this is reflected in hormonal levels, not only the testosterone, but oxytocin. This book is a wonderful introduction to people, not only to think a different way and therefore to be able to identify what are the most important interventions, but also it's empowering.
Because if you are fragmented, it does seem hopeless. But it isn't if we see that we can change from domination to partnership. For example, nations like Sweden, Finland and Norway. These were dirt poor countries at the beginning of the 20th Century, and today, they always not only have the lowest gender gaps according to the World Economic Forum, but they also, according to the World Economic Forum, always rank high in the Global Competitiveness Reports.
And they're not socialist nations. People define socialism any way that pleases them. Socialism is actually a term Hitler used. It means that the government is involved in the economic system. It could be for terrible things or for good. These nations have a very healthy market economy, but they also have caring social and economic policies.
The study of relational dynamics identifies the key elements, the core components of social systems that reinforce each other to maintain the system. And once you understand that, then you can identify the core interventions, the cornerstones of childhood and gender, because gender socialization is really socializing us for what it means to be human, right?
Riane: For both boys and girls.
Eric: Yeah, taking away our multidimensional choices we have and polarizing them to this or that.
Riane: Exactly. The movement today towards greater gender fluidity is movement towards partnership, but again, it's siloed. People think that is what's going to make the difference, but it's not enough. There's also childhood and economics and there's language and narratives or stories. Those are the four cornerstones.
I've written another book, as you know, which I think you'd really like, The Real Wealth of Nations on economics. Of course we also deal with economics in Nurturing Our Humanity. And at the Center for Partnership Studies we're working on new metrics: the Social Wealth Economic Indicators we launched in 2014 are now being updated and condensed into an Index. I keynoted the Bretton Woods 75 Conference, and out of it came a powerful working group to develop this Social Wealth index. You might want to look at all this on our website, centerforpartnership.org.
Developing a Social Wealth Index is very important. As miserable and as inaccurate and as crazy as GDP is, it's one number. So, we want to have two numbers as an index, rather than the 24 numbers that we now have for the Social wealth Economic Indicators. These new metrics support a new economics that goes beyond both capitalism and socialism, neither of which recognized the importance of caring for people starting in early childhood and caring for nature.
So, this is a very important change, especially in our post-industrial change when human capacity is the key, isn't it, to economic success?
Eric: Yes. The irony, and the golden nugget for me, is that given the state of the world and the state of things, there is a lot of value to be added by going into partnership and taking care of the planet and taking care of each other. There's money in it.
Riane: Yes. There's money in it. We have to show this to not only the people who want a more just and caring and sustainable world, but to the people who control the resources. That is why I introduced a new economic paradigm I call partnerism or a caring economics. It recognizes that we need a markets as well as enlightened government policies, but it goes beyond both capitalism and socialism and is informed by a different set of guiding values.
Because both Smith and Marx considered caring for people just women's work, raising children just women's work. As for caring for nature, nature was there to be exploited for both of them. Caring economics recognizes that we need policies that actually reward caring for people, whether it's in the market economy or in the family or household economy. And we must care for our natural life support systems.
There are signs of hope. The fact that the Governor of California is pushing for accessible high quality, early childhood education. The fact is that there is more recognition now of the importance of gender relations, which are normative for all relations.
Eric: Yes. As I said, I'm a father of two, tween daughters, 11 and 12, and we have this ongoing conversation about what all these stereotypes and norms that are being forced on them are about, and how to respond to them and then trying to find the middle ground.
Riane: It is very hard because of the peer and the commercial pressure, and the male entitlement mentality, which we know today is behind some of the mass shootings. We have to have a clearer understanding of not just symptoms, but what are the things we have to address, the roots of our problems? Because otherwise, we're going to keep having regressions.
I wrote an op-ed in 2007, and I said take a look at what's been happening. The people pushing us back, the so-called rightist fundamentalist alliance in the U.S., it came together to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment – a "women's issue.". That's how it first started. They have put in enormous energy, money, and time into pushing the normative ideal for women, men, and families back. So much so, that when people were asked do you agree that "the father is the master of the house" the percentage of people over a 10-year span increased massively in saying yes. So we progressives have to also pay attention to family and gender. But progressives have marginalized or ignored this.
Eric: Well, that would crumble their power structures as well in some ways as well.
Riane: We're not talking about building a utopia. But we are talking about a system that is simply not sustainable right now. When you say it will crumble their power structures, I think we're at a time when we urgently, need this new way of thinking.
Riane: Because this is not just a critique of what is, which is what so much of "progressive activity" is. It's Bernie Sanders, "I'm angry. I'm going to take down the system…," It is understanding how we got here and what we need to do, not only in the short term but in the long term, so that we don't keep replicating the same thing. And that starts in childhood.
Eric: When speaking to that idea of hope, and to me, what comes up there and what needs to be is the idea that in a domination system, basically all of humanity is traumatized.
Riane: Yes.
Eric: And the work that needs to be done of coming into partnership and caring for the planet, has been proven to be very healing work in terms of the healing arts. So, what we need to do is what science says needs to be done for us to, as you say, nurture our humanity.
Riane: Yes. Recently the American Psychological Association finally came out with a statement saying spanking is not only ineffective as a means of discipline, but harmful. But consider the nations that have moved most closely to the partnership side pioneered this in the '70s. The first laws saying that it's against the law to physically discipline children were enacted in Sweden. Now, 50 nations have followed suit. Not the United States, of course. But we need to follow suit.
We need to show people that it's in their best interests to change and that gender stereotypes, as you said, deprive both women and men of their full humanity. I always believe in showing the benefits of change.
Eric: That sounds like a good place to wrap up on, actually. Focusing on the benefits of change!
I'm going to take a little sidebar here, because we often think of hierarchy as being the problem. But we all need parents and teachers and managers and leaders. So, I had to make a distinction between a hierarchy of domination, which we all are familiar with: You better obey or else, whether it's in the family, on the job, in a rigid domination regime. But there is another kind of hierarchy: a hierarchy of actualization, where, as in the title of my first book, The Chalice and the Blade, power is conceptualized not as power over, but as power to and power with, where there is accountability and respect.
That we increasingly find references to this kind of power is a partnership trend.
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One thought on "12/21 – Nurturing our Humanity with Riane Eisler"
Edward Berge December 27, 2019 at 2:40 pm
Speaking of creating new language to define a partnership society, I call it hier(an)archical synplexity to differentiate it from hierarchical complexity. From this piece:*
"There is ample evidence that the collaborative commons is not only emerging but already has a solid foothold in the transition away from capitalism. It also seems to be growing organically via its peer to peer principles, changing the very ethos of what it means for a system to organize. It integrates hierarchy with heterarchy in a distributed, networked format that transcends capitalism's dominant hierarchical, top-down structure. This format is where organizational levels no longer evolve in a strictly linear fashion of an ever-increasing complexity of growth but via the evolution of a folded, meshed, ecological sustainability, akin to what I've come to call hier(an)archical synplexity" (p. 90).
From capitalism to the collaborative commons:
http://integral-review.org/pdf-template-issue.php?pdfName=vol_15_no_1_berge_from_capitalism_to_the_collaborative_commons.pdf


GeoCities Debuts Redesigned Interface - InternetNews.
In a move aimed at improving navigation and enabling easier access to content, Internet community site operator GeoCities today announced a series of site enhancements including a new user interface and topic pages.
In addition, each GeoCities Homesteader will now receive 11 megabytes of disk space instead of 6 megabytes, and GeoPlus premium service members now have access to 25 megabytes of space, up from 20 megabytes, for the $4.95 monthly fee.
The new interface will carry 14 interest group categories, or "GeoAvenues," into which each Web site from the company's reported 1.9 million members will be packaged. Among these areas are Business & Money, Computer & Technology, Entertainment, Family & Kids, Sports & Recreation, and Women. Each GeoAvenue links to relevant topic pages as well as news headlines, current event chat rooms, and GeoCities services such as shopping and polls.
GeoCities also said that each Homesteader-created page will now feature a digital watermark button that links users back to the previously accessed Topic and GeoAvenue page.
Newly incorporated branded content providers in various GeoAvenues include ZDNet, ESPN SportsZone and Women's Wire.
"These new features will encourage our Homesteaders to visit us more frequently, and entice Internet users to make GeoCities a daily destination," said Thomas R. Evans, CEO, GeoCities. "The improved interface was designed to make it much easier for users to find the content they are looking for as they navigate the millions of pages of user-published content."
In mid-June, Santa Monica, CA-based GeoCities filed for an initial public offering hoping to generate approximately $72.45 million.


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The Ridge Is Hiring!
We have a variety of positions available.
Drop your resume off at The Ridge.
Advertise Your Business On Daily Gold
We are open Tuesday thru Saturday, our hours are 5ish to 9ish. We offer Chicken, Ribs, Pizza and more. Check out our menu at
www.lildroadie.com
VICTORIA, BC – The provincial government is introducing new regulation for open burning.
The new rules are designed to protect the province's air quality, as well as the environment by reducing fine particulate matter pollution.
The new Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation will come into effect on September 15, 2019. The province says the new regulations are meant to replace older "one size fits all" rules for open burning throughout the province, regardless of the location or season.
"People and communities deserve to have clean air," Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy George Heyman said.
"That's why we are putting new rules in place that will lessen health impacts and allow everyone to breathe a little easier. We are also incentivizing the use of newer and cleaner technology with rules that give more flexibility if advanced burning technology is used to cut pollution."
The new regulation includes stricter rules near communities, including shorter burn periods and a requirement to dry out debris, as well as larger setbacks from neighbours, schools and hospitals.
The new regulation will also allow communities more flexibility to conduct controlled burning, which will reduce fire hazards.
In BC, open burning is the largest source of fine particulate matter pollution. It contributes to poor air quality in communities and has a wide range of health impacts.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says poor air quality can take a terrible toll on people's health.
"Given the difficult wildfire seasons our province has faced in recent years, initiatives like this to improve air quality are important, especially to seniors and children who are often the most at risk."
The Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation is available online and can be found through this link.
Business Opportunity.
B.C. Ferries Increases Salings To The Mainland
Dozens of extra ferry sailings have been added on routes between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland ahead of the peak travel season kicking of Friday. B-C Ferries says in a statement the seasonal adjustments between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen include 6 a-m starts, hourly sailings and midnight departures on busy days. Sailings will also be boosted on routes between Nanaimo and the Mainland. To avoid sailing waits, B-C Ferries recommends making reservations or avoiding the busiest travel times around weekends.
Gold River Days
Gold River Days August 22 - 25
The Parade will be on Saturday August 24th
The Chamber of Commerce is organizing the parade again this year. If yo would like any information please contact Roger Steele or Linda Vandenberg.
Let's make this years Parade the Biggest!!
Rod & Gun Club..
Vancouver Island Politician Dies At Strathcona Park
Clarke Gourlay was killed in a mountaineering accident on Saturday.
Gourlay was the founder of Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, Morningstar Farm, and was also the Director for the Regional District of Nanaimo Area G.
A post on the Little Qualicum Cheeseworks and MooBerry Winery Facebook page says he was killed in a mountaineering incident in Strathcona Provincial Park Saturday night.
The post also said Gourlay's "energy, passion, and drive were infectious and, along with Nancy, an incredibly involved and supportive family, a dedicated staff team, and a great community, Clarke built this business into what it is today."
His wife Nancy says a board has been set up at the farm's location for people to stop and share memories of Clarke.
She also says instead of leaving flowers, donations to the Campbell River Search and Rescue would be appreciated.
The Facebook post added that "He will be remembered dearly by the innumerable people he reached in his many circles and he is survived by his wife of 30 years, Nancy Gourlay, his mother Dorothy Gourlay, his sons Kevin Gourlay, John Gourlay and Raymond (& Rebecca) Gourlay, and his grandchildren Kieran and Dahlia."
Clarke Gourlay lived in District Area G for over 18 years before was elected as the Regional District Director back in 2018.
The Vault Is Open
Starting on July 2nd, we will be open for the summer. Days and hours will be posted on the door. Local Crafter and Artisan Chamber of Commerce members will have their items for sale. If you are interested in displaying and selling your crafts, becoming a member is easy! Contact Linda Vandenberg for more information by sending me a private message via messenger or call me at -2902.
Construction Begins On Cell Tower!
Ptreliminary ground work has begun on the site for the cell tower.
The Daily Gold will keep you up to date with the construction progress.
Conuma Cable News
(From Amanda Ballard)
Have you upgraded to your HD cable box? Conuma cable is going everything HD. The final process will be done before July 23rd. The old cable boxes will be totally obsolete on that date.
Also note that regular channel numbers will also be changing.
Aren't sure what cable box you have, call Conuma Cable or come by the office. Monday-Friday 9am-2pm. 250-283-2521 ext 111.
All standard definition channels are being eliminated as some have noticed ( if you have the HD box, the channels are still available for viewing) New updated brochures are printed and ready for grabs.
Have Your Say About Daylight Savings Time
British Columbians are invited to share their views on how we should observe time in our province. Most areas of B.C. currently "spring forward" into Daylight Saving Time during summer months and "fall back" to Standard Time in the winter.
The following choices are being considered:
B.C. continues the practice of changing our clocks bi-annually; or
B.C. adopts year-round observance of Daylight Saving Time.
Legislators in California, Oregon and Washington have proposed bills to end the bi-annual time change and observe Daylight Saving Time year-round. Premier John Horgan has reached out to the Governors of these states as well as to the Premier of Yukon, to hear their opinions and help inform the discussion in B.C.
The public engagement period will run from June 24, 2019 to July 19, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. During this time, interested individuals and organizations will be invited to share their opinions in the following ways:
Individuals may complete the online survey.
Experts and organizations may provide formal submissions via email to citizenengagement@gov.bc.ca. Please read the guidelines for formal submissions.
Feedback collected through this engagement will be weighed alongside decisions adopted by neighbouring jurisdictions to help government determine the best course of action for B.C. A final decision is expected to be announced in the fall of 2019.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015 Dec;10(12):1684-92. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsv056. Epub 2015 May 11.
Supporting the self-concept with memory: insight from amnesia.
Memory Disorders Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA matthew.grilli@va.gov.
Memory Disorders Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
We investigated the extent to which personal semantic memory supports the self-concept in individuals with medial temporal lobe amnesia and healthy adults. Participants completed eight 'I Am' self-statements. For each of the four highest ranked self-statements, participants completed an open-ended narrative task, during which they provided supporting information indicating why the I Am statement was considered self-descriptive. Participants then completed an episodic probe task, during which they attempted to retrieve six episodic memories for each of these self-statements. Supporting information was scored as episodic, personal semantic or general semantic. In the narrative task, personal semantic memory predominated as self-supporting information in both groups. The amnesic participants generated fewer personal semantic memories than controls to support their self-statements, a deficit that was more pronounced for trait relative to role self-statements. In the episodic probe task, the controls primarily generated unique event memories, but the amnesic participants did not. These findings demonstrate that personal semantic memory, in particular autobiographical fact knowledge, plays a critical role in supporting the self-concept, regardless of the accessibility of episodic memories, and they highlight potential differences in the way traits and roles are supported by personal memory.
Mean number of personal semantic (PS), personal episodic (PE) and general semantic (GS) memories generated per self-statement during the narrative task by amnesic participants and controls, separated by trait and role self-statements. Error bars depict the standard error of the mean.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015 Dec;10(12):1684-1692.
Mean number of autobiographical fact (AF), thought/belief (T/B) and trait/role (T/R) memories generated per self-statement during the narrative task by amnesic participants and controls, separated by trait and role self-statements. Error bars depict the standard error of the mean.
Mean number of personal semantic (PS) and general semantic (GS) details incorporated into each personal semantic memory during the narrative task by amnesic participants and controls, separated by trait and role self-statements. Error bars depict the standard error of the mean.
Mean number of unique events (UE) and repeated events (RE) generated per self-statement during the episodic probe task by amnesic participants and controls, separated by trait and role self-statements. Error bars depict the standard error of the mean.


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It is emerging that the scandals that rocked this year's Olympic games in Australia are not peculiar to Ghana where over 60 'non-journalists' attended as reports suggest other African countries are having their 'fair share' of the cake.
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According to the report, three weightlifters and two boxers could also not be traced.
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Barry Adrian Reese (born July 7, 1982), better known by his stage name Cassidy, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is perhaps best known for his singles "Hotel" (featuring R. Kelly), "Get No Better" (featuring Mashonda), "I'm a Hustla", "B-Boy Stance", and "My Drink n My 2 Step" (featuring Swizz Beatz).

Cassidy first garnered attention for his freestyles and competitions as a battle rapper in the late 1990s. American record producer Swizz Beatz found Cassidy in 2002 and signed him to his Full Surface Records imprint under Ruff Ryders Entertainment and J Records, which helped him gain major recognition. He rose to prominence with his debut studio album Split Personality, which was released in March 2004 and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200.

Early life
Barry Adrian Reese was born to an East African mother of Ethiopian descent.

Musical career

2002–05: Split Personality and I'm a Hustla

In 2002, Cassidy signed a recording contract with American music producer Swizz Beatz's Full Surface imprint, under the aegis of Ruff Ryders Entertainment and J Records. On November 29, 2003, he released his commercial debut single, "Hotel", featuring R. Kelly. The song reached the Top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, "Get No Better", features Mashonda. On March 16, 2004, Cassidy released his debut album, Split Personality. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the following month.

On April 15, 2005, Cassidy released the single "I'm a Hustla". The next single, "B-Boy Stance", features vocals and production from his mentor, Swizz Beatz. On June 28, 2005, Cassidy released his second studio album, I'm a Hustla. It debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart, with 93,000 copies sold in the first week.

2006–11: B.A.R.S. and C.A.S.H.

In 2006, after his release from prison and recovering from an auto wreck, Cassidy began work on his third studio album, B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story. The album was released on November 6, 2007, debuting at number 10 on the Billboard 200, with 63,000 copies sold in the first week. The album was led by the single "My Drink n My 2 Step", featuring vocals and production from Swizz Beatz.

In late 2009, Cassidy signed with Carmelo Anthony's label Kross Over Entertainment. While preparing his fourth studio album, he released a mixtape series entitled Apply Pressure. On August 24, 2010, Cassidy released the five-track EP Face 2 Face, with the promotional single "Face 2 Face". On November 16, 2010, Cassidy's fourth studio album, C.A.S.H. (Cass a Straight Hustla) was released. On its first week it had sold about 5,200 copies, much lower than his previous studio albums. "Drumma Bass" was the only official single from the album.

2012–present: Mr. Hip-Hop and Da Science
On May 21, 2012, Cassidy hosted a release party for his mixtape Mayhem Music. On July 8, 2012, he released the mixtape Mayhem Music: AP3. After fellow Philly rapper Meek Mill said he would battle Cassidy, which Cassidy later said he would accept if the money was right. They participated in a "twitter beef" after which Cassidy released "The Diary of a Hustla" which was originally thought to be a diss towards Meek. This was later refuted by Cassidy. They both were asking for $100,000 each for the battle to take place. However, after Meek Mill dissed Cassidy's song "Condom Style" (a remake of Psy's "Gangnam Style") Cassidy released a song titled "Me, Myself & iPhone" where he took shots at Meek Mill. Afterwards, Meek Mill responded with the diss track "Repo" which Mill later said would be the final diss record he would release against Cassidy. Cassidy later said the feud was not personal, saying it was all in the spirit of hip hop. On January 6, 2013 Cassidy released a 10-minute-long diss response titled "Raid". On October 6, Cassidy released his album Da Science.

Other ventures
In 2007, Cassidy signed a deal as the "new face" for Lot 29's fall clothing line. In 2009, Cassidy appeared in the comedy film, Next Day Air.

In late 2012, Cassidy remade South Korean singer Psy's international hit single "Gangnam Style, re-titling it "Condom Style". The remake reportedly earned Cassidy an endorsement deal with Trojan.

In 2013, Cassidy released a biography titled Behind B.A.R.S: The Authorized Biography of Cassidy.

In late 2014, Cassidy returned to battle rap by battling Los Angeles-based veteran Dizaster, on December 6, 2014 at Filmon.com's "Ether" event.

Personal life

Murder case
On April 15, 2005 three men, including AR-Ab and Cassidy, armed with pistols and an AK-47 assault rifle, fired on three unarmed men during an argument that occurred in the West Oak Lane neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia. Desmond Hawkins was killed by a shot in the back. Hawkins' two other friends were treated at hospitals for gunshot wounds and released.

On June 9, a warrant was issued for Cassidy's arrest on charges of murder, attempted murder, reckless endangerment, aggravated assault, conspiracy and weapons possession. Cassidy surrendered to Philadelphia police on the afternoon of June 17. At his arraignment on Saturday, June 18, he was denied bail, and sent to Philadelphia's Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, a high-security prison, where he would serve his time during the trial and after he was sentenced.

Cassidy's murder case took a turn when the primary witness withdrew his confession. This resulted in the judge stating that Cassidy would stand trial for third-degree murder. On August 16, 2005, Municipal Judge Marsha Neifield ruled that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to charge Cassidy with third-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons offenses. This was later overturned to the original, first degree charge - negating the possibility of parole. On January 25, 2006, Cassidy was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of an instrument of crime for his involvement in the shooting. He was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in prison plus probation and was credited with the 7 months he had already served.

Cassidy was released from Pennsylvania's Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on March 2, 2006 after serving eight months.

Cassidy talks about his arrest and time in prison in the 2011 film Rhyme and Punishment, which documents various hip-hop artists who have done county jail or state/federal prison time.

Car wreck
Cassidy was seriously injured in a vehicle wreck on the night of October 5, 2006, when a commercial truck collided with his SUV, in which he was a passenger. He was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a fractured skull and several broken bones on the left side of his face. He still has visible scars from the wreck.

Discography

Split Personality (2004)
I'm a Hustla (2005)
B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story (2007)
C.A.S.H. (2010)
Da Science (2020)
Da Formula (2020)
Da Wiseman (2021)
Currently working on a new project with Eddy Cube (2021)

Filmography
2007: American Gangster as uncredited
2009: Next Day Air as Cass
2011: Rhyme and Punishment as himself
2014: Kony Montana as a local boss

References

External links

 Cassidy at Last.fm

Living people
African-American male rappers
American male rappers
American people convicted of manslaughter
American prisoners and detainees
Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni
J Records artists
Prisoners and detainees of Pennsylvania
East Coast hip hop musicians
Rappers from Philadelphia
Ruff Ryders artists
1982 births
African-American songwriters
Songwriters from Pennsylvania
Underground rappers
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians
American people convicted of assault
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American people
American male songwriters

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
« Ethnic violence claims 25 in Sri Lanka
Fierce battles in the Northern front, despite downpour »
Tigers prepare to face Army's mechanised infantry
March 28, 2008 by lrrp
An important militaristic development is unfolding in the northern theatre of war.
The 57, 58 and 59 Divisions of the Army continue to battle it out with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) within the Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu Districts in the north west, south and south east of the Northern Province while the 53 and 55 Divisions are engaging in combat along the Kilaly-Muhamaalai-Nagar Kovil axis inside the Jaffna peninsula.
While fighting goes on almost on a daily basis in the northern mainland, known generally as the Wanni, the peninsula witnesses an intense exchange of artillery fire each day. There are also occasional skirmishes and minor offensives of a limited nature.
Line of control
As of now, the initiative is with the security forces, which are frequently launching attacks along the Kilaly-Muhamalai-Nagar Kovil axis. The time, place and intensity of such attacks is decided and determined by the security forces.
The LTTE for the time being is merely reacting and responding to military initiatives by fighting what is essentially a defensive war.
The greater part of the Jaffna peninsula and outlying islands are under the control of the armed forces. The LTTE controls the underdeveloped, sparsely populated areas in the south, south west and south east of the peninsula.
These areas consist of the Pachchilaippally AGA division and parts of the Thenmaratchy and Vadamaratchy East AGA divisions. Some of these areas fall under the Jaffna District while others come under Kilinochchi District.
All areas of the peninsula south of Nagar Kovil on the east coast, Muhamaalai in the middle and Kilaly in the west are under LTTE control. Thus, the effective line of control is along an axis comprising Kilaly-Muhamaalai-Nagar Kovil.
This is a 'rekha' that both sides have been trying to cross for many years.
The LTTE conducted phase four of its staggered 'Unceasing Waves' (Oyatha Alaigal) operation in 2000 to extend this line further north but failed. The Tigers also made an abortive attack in Muhamalai in August 2006 to reach the defences at Muhamaalai.
The armed forces conducted 'Operation Agnikheela' in April 2001. It was a colossal disaster. Security forces also made a determined push in October 2006 that failed.
There were also two limited offensives in November and December last year.
Retaking Elephant Pass
The strategic objective as far as the security forces are concerned is to drive the LTTE away from the peninsula and re-take the isthmus of Elephant Pass that links the peninsula and mainland.
For this the armed forces need to progress southwards about 10 to 12 miles from where they are located now. The terrain consists of plains, grasslands, fields, marshes, scrub jungle, coconut and palmyrah groves, etc.
Despite the overwhelming military superiority of the armed forces, they have found it difficult to dislodge the LTTE from entrenched positions. The Tigers, holding on to territory, are engaging in positional warfare like a conventional Army to defend and retain it.
The Army is determined to push forward and re-take Elephant Pass in the near future. A key element of the military plans to push forward in the peninsula is the large-scale deployment of its newly created Mechanised Infantry Division (MID).
The MID is a brainchild of Army Commander Lt. Gen Sarath Fonseka. It was formally 'raised' on February 14, 2007.
The MID is in actuality the 53-4 Brigade that was designated later as the mechanised infantry brigade. It consists of three battalions called the first, second and third Mechanized Infantry Regiments, or MIR.
The military personnel deployed in these MIRs come from the 3rd Light Infantry Battalion, 10th Sinha Regiment, 4th Gajaba Battalion and 5th and 6th Reconnaissance Regiments of the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps.
The MID has a variety of armoured vehicles including BTR-80A, BMP-2, Type 63 and WZ551, for operational purposes.
The MID had a baptism of fire, literally. It was on February 14, 2007, at the Regimental Headquarters of the 53 Division located in Kodikamam that the Mechanised Infantry Regiment was ceremonially inaugurated.
While the ceremony was in progress, the LTTE fired its artillery accurately from across the lagoon in Poonagary on the mainland. Brigade Commander Lt. Colonel Ralph Nugera, Lt. Col. Sumith Atapattu, Major Harendra Peiris and two staff officers were injured.
A major factor that led to the establishment of the MID was the military debacle on October 11, 2006 when the Army tried to push southwards to Elephant Pass. The LTTE allowed the soldiers to proceed to some extent and then counter-attacked.
An important highlight of the fighting on that day was the severe losses of armoured vehicles by the Army. At least 12 Armoured Fighter Vehicles (AFV) and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) were put out of action by the Tigers in three hours of fierce combat.
Even as fighting progressed, government troops backed by artillery went forward. The advance was slowed down to some extent by Tiger artillery as well as mines.
Two Main Battle Tanks (MBT) were hit by anti-tank 'monster' mines. These mines were placed and triggered by the Victor Unit of the LTTE, which specialises in anti-tank and anti-armoured vehicle warfare.
After the first MBT tank was hit and rendered non-operational, the second MBT overtook it and proceeded ahead. This too was hit in turn by a 'monster' anti-tank mine. A third armoured vehicle moved in a different direction and fell into a deep, waterlogged ditch. It was a pit that was dug and covered up with vegetation.
It was a well camouflaged Tiger trap. This too was laid by the Victor Unit and demonstrated that the LTTE excelled in both using modern weaponry as well as engaging in comparatively 'primitive' yet effective warfare tactics.
LTTE's Victor Tank Unit
The LTTE's Victor anti-tank and armoured Unit continued engaging in action during intensive fighting too. Despite having lost its founder Commander, Lt. Col Akbar to a random Army shell on October 7, members of the unit fought fiercely.
In addition to the earlier losses of two armoured vehicles to 'monster' mines and another to a camouflaged pit trap, three more AFVs were hit by anti-tank RPGs and destroyed.
Six AFVs comprising four Czech built T-55s and two Russian built ones were put out of action by the Victor Unit.
The Victor Unit also fired at Chinese built APCs with success. Three APCs were totally destroyed while another three were extensively damaged.
Altogether the Victor Unit had put six armoured fighting vehicles and six armoured personnel carriers out of action within a few hours of fighting. The armed forces had never sustained such massive losses in this manner before.
Significantly, the LTTE had suffered a major loss four days before the fighting. On October 7, Lt. Col Akbar of the LTTE was killed along the Muhamaalai FDL as a result of an Army shell.
Akbar, a Batticaloa Tamil, was the head of the Victor Unit. He joined the LTTE in 1990 got married in 2003. He was, from its inception, the chief of the Victor Unit, which was named after former Mannar Tiger Commander Victor.
This unit, known generally among LTTE cadres as the 'RPG Commando,' had its roots in the 'Col.' Kittu Artillery Unit and had its baptism of fire during 'Operation Sathjaya' in Kilinochchi.
It then became a sub-division of the Imran-Pandian Unit, named after two of Prabhakaran's trusted bodyguards.
'Blood sacrifice'
By 1997-98, the unit began functioning independently under Akbar. Members of this unit have vertical and not horizontal stripes on their uniforms.
Though many stalwarts of this unit like Maj. Navachandran, Lt. Col. Manivannan and Lt. Col. Chutta are no more, Akbar had survived despite being a veteran of many 'Jayasikuru' and 'Oyatha Alaigal' battles.
Lt. Col Akbar's death at a critical time may very well have affected LTTE fortunes as the Victor Unit was of crucial importance in countering Army advances.
His death, however, seemed to have inspired his unit members to perform well during war. Instead of being a bad omen, it seemed to have become the 'blood sacrifice' made to the gods before war to ensure victory. This was a practice in the lost martial tradition of the Tamils that has been revived by the Liberation Tigers.
Incidentally, R. Pageerathan, alias Ilango, who led the attack on the Anuradhapura Air Force base in Saliyapura last October was also a stalwart of the Victor Unit. Ilango's greatest military achievement prior to the Anuradhapura attack had been at Ithavil during the Elephant Pass operation.
LTTE cadres brought by sea had landed at Vadamaratchy east and moved inland. They had penetrated Ithavil along the A9 Highway and interdicted military movement along the road to Elephant Pass/Iyakkachchi.
The security forces were fighting hard to drive the Tigers away and clear the road so that supplies could reach beleaguered troops at Elephant Pass. The use of tanks and armoured cars placed the LTTE at a disadvantage.
It was then that the Victor Unit, named after the former Mannar LTTE Commander, got into action. Two armoured cars were hit by light anti tank weapons.
At one stage Ilango is said to have jumped on top of a Buffel tank and shot dead the gunner. Ilango had then turned the tank's weapons on the security forces. This act helped turn the tide of war, it is said.
Deployment of the MID
The deployment of the MID is expected to turn the direction of the war in favour of the armed forces. Massive destructive power is to be unleashed on a terrific and widespread scale as the MID gets going.
The earlier role of the infantry, advancing with the aid of armoured vehicles, will be reversed with the armoured vehicles advancing with the infantry behind.
On January 31 this year the MID had its first taste of success. Thanks to the rapid deployment of the MID, the armed forces overran the first line of LTTE defence along the Muhamaalai front. Around 25 bunkers were destroyed.
In mid-March the armed forces undertook another major push. The Tigers quietly retreated and waited. Smelling a rat, the armed forces also opted to stay put for several hours and then withdraw. Consequently military intelligence uncovered the LTTE strategy.
Apparently the Tigers, in anticipation of the mechanised infantry, had embarked upon classical trench warfare. In a bid to entrap the advancing tanks and armoured vehicles, the LTTE had constructed a wide, deep and long trench behind their second line of defence. Two other defence lines consisting of a network of trenches had been constructed behind the major trench.
The giant trench was wide and deep so the tanks could not bridge over the top but would instead fall into the trench and not be able to get out. Welded 'stars' of steel, or specially-designed blocks of concrete, had also been placed in the way of the tanks so they could not get over or go around the trench.
The LTTE forced a large number of civilians to engage in digging trenches and bunkers as part of defence preparations. Every able-bodied man was required to do a minimum of seven days enforced 'shramadana' in digging in one stretch.
If anyone wanted to opt out of it, they had to pay a 'fine' of Rs. 5,000 per week. The LTTE used that money to pay the people doing the digging. The LTTE kept Rs. 1,000 of the fine and paid the hired help Rs. 4,000 for a week's work.
Trench warfare
It is noteworthy that the LTTE is engaging in trench warfare to confront the mechanised infantry formations when they advance.
Earlier, the familiar tactic of the LTTE was 'in-depth defence,' where the security forces were encouraged to advance deep into Tiger territory and were then counter-attacked.
Interestingly, 'tanks' were developed during World War I to overrun trench-based defences. During World War II, trench warfare was modified to prevent defences being overrun by the mechanised and armoured divisions.
The French, for instance, constructed the famous Maginot line trench complex to stop German invasion but Hitler's Panzer divisions just rolled around the end of it and kept going ahead.
A recent event of significance in the annals of trench warfare has been the construction of deep trenches in Western Golans by the Israeli defence forces. Massive trenches are being dug by troops and civilians behind the slopes of the Golan heights, in anticipation of a possible advance by Syria.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan armed forces have also 'delayed' their plans in the aftermath of knowing the trench warfare plans of the LTTE. The MID is being put through different types of tactical training to surmount anticipated trench based warfare of the Tigers.
The unusually long rainy season is also a deterrent to the MRD as soggy, muddy terrain is not very conducive to forward movement by heavy vehicles.
In any event, both sides are getting ready for the inevitable 'big bang.' There is no doubt that the MID will play the decisive role in breaking down LTTE defences. On the other hand, the Victor Unit will play a crucial role in countering the MID advance.
Ultimately, the renewed battle for Elephant Pass could be a novel form of trench versus tank warfare or mechanised infantry versus anti-tank unit confrontation.
Posted in Tigers prepare to face Army's mechanised infantry | Leave a Comment


Start Your Halloween Party at Andiamo Italian Grill!
Join us for dinner and $3 margaritas before you head to your party – Friday, October 27th and Saturday, October 28th. Come in costume and get a complimentary dessert or glass of house wine on us with purchase of an entree!


Handcrafted stoneware lamp body in rugged Grogged Bone, hand-turned White Oak, hand-finished Blackened Brass with White Parchment shade. This lamp is UL listed and comes with cloth covered cord.
Shade - 15" x 16" x 11"


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